Did you know there was such a thing?
It seems that many of you had no idea. Neither did I until a few years ago, when I saw a pencil in my right hand with the text printed upside down. Yes, it is that simple. The legible orientation of a pencils stamping determines its “handedness.” Pretty cool, right?
Well, except if you actually are left-handed and would like a pencil to not look backwards in your hand. Lefties comprise approximately 10% of the worldwide population, but only a fraction of one percent in my admittedly unscientific study of the pencils in my collection.
Last week, I pulled out well over 100 pencils from the Closet of Doom, and came away with one, ONE, pencil that was stamped for a left-handed writer. Do you know why? Because it came from Write Notepads. And Chris Rothe, owner of Write Notepads, is left-handed and wants his pencils to look correct when he uses them, darn it!
With one in every 10 possible pencil users writing from the left side, wouldn’t you think pencil manufacturers would cater to them a little more? Say, 10% of their production to left-handed barrel stamping? Or, stamp the opposite side of the barrel with the opposite oriented markings, making each pencil correct for every user?
Or, is this some type of Big Pencil conspiracy?
Look, I’m not here to pretend I’m a lifelong lefty and have gone through all of the challenges lefties go through. But, I’ve been an honorary lefty for two months now, and there is more left-handed writing in my future, for at least another month or two. I want my pencils to look just as cool in my left hand as they do in my right!
Is 10% of production too much for you, Blackwing? Is the squeeze not worth the juice, Musgrave? How about you, Tombow? Set yourself apart from the competition in this area!
It’s time for pencil manufacturers to get right, and start making pencils for their left-handed fans.
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